Ticking

One second

One second

  One second.

  That is all it takes to disappear off the surface of the world. Every second, a child is born, every few seconds, there is one death. Time is always ticking. Even one second late could mean everything. If you leave your house one second late, you may miss the bus by a second. If the police arrived one second later, the thief may have taken off and left no trace. If the ambulance arrived one second later, it may be one second too late to keep someone alive.

  One second could mean everything.

  I stare down the edge of the building. I see the reflection of the night sky on the building’s pristine glass windows. I see the moon glinting; I see a shadow of myself clinging over the edge of the rooftop.

  It takes one second to make a choice, to live or die.

  I smile bitterly at the rushing cars under me. Every second, I think of the consequence of my jump. Every second that ticked by, I find more and more reasons to stay. But it still isn’t enough to weigh out the balance of my choice. I hesitate as I looked over the edge again.

  One second is all it takes you to rush through the entrance to the rooftop behind me. I hear you panting, your eyes stricken as I turn around to face you. My bitter smile widens, could you actually save me from my decision? Maybe, because the seconds were ticking, every second that passed, I feel more obliged to stay.

  Why do you even consider doing this? Why throw your life away in one second? You pant, your eyes scanning my expression fearfully.

  Because it isn’t worth staying. The seconds tick by as we speak, I say.

  You stand up to your full height. Your eyes send me a challenge. Is one second worth your entire life? Is one second worth the years you have ahead of you? Your eyes throw stabbing questions at me, slowing dragging me away from my decision to jump.

  Is one second all you life’s worth? You ask me slowly, carefully threading, not wanting me to turn back the edge of the rooftop, careful not to break me.

  I consider my answer, I look up at the stars in the sky.

  Because you have such a long way to go, why throw away the success and happiness you can achieve if you just try? Life is not unfair, everyone gets the same number of tries, everyone has the right to make their own decisions, so many people who are unhappy have the choice to jump like you have decided, but why  do you not see anyone else jumping off the nearby buildings at the moment? Because they decided against it, because they found a reason to live on. Reconsider your decision, because no life is worth just one second.